Caught this review over on NPR and thought it might interest some of you. My Absolute Darling is a novel about child abuse, which I personally find to be something that doesn’t interest me as much, but I know some other survivors who do enjoy reading stories of overcoming abuse, fiction or non-fiction. If that…
This is one powerful victim statement to the court. I think many survivors can identify with it, even as it may be difficult to read. Australia’s most notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale will spend at least another three years behind bars after admitting to sexually abusing more children. The 83-year-old man now has 161 convictions…
Robyn provides some good information. This is something I know many survivors struggle with – Well-meant urging or pressure to reach out in a time of need does not work for those who have experienced trauma in their lives. Something (seemingly) simple like accepting a compliment may be painfully hard. But the ability to integrate these…
Sadly, I know this science is not good news to many a survivor, because being touched is often a huge problem for childhood sexual abuse survivors. “So there you have it; scientific proof that supportive touch does much more than make you feel good (not that that isn’t enough!); it actually modifies our biochemistry and…
OK, stop rolling your eyes and think about this for a minute. Yes, this seems kind of funny, but as much as I’ve talked about how having an abusive childhood means not developing the skills we are supposed to learn as children because we were too busy just trying to survive, I wonder how effective…
When you grow up in an abusive situation, your mind learns things that are very hard to unlearn. Yes, it’s a form of PTSD, and it can throw you for a loop: I still avoid many things that remind me of her; I still flinch sometimes when people raise a hand near me — a…
